Coast Village Road Retail Center Sold in $14.5 Million Deal

The 13,800-square-foot retail center at 1046 Coast Village Road, with such long-term tenants asStarbucks and Vons Pharmacy, has been purchased by Deborah and James Longo in a $14.5 million off-market deal. (Radius Commercial Real Estate & Investments photo)

A prime piece of high visibility Montecito real estate has traded in a $14.5 million off-market deal, marking the largest sale of commercial property ever on Coast Village Road.

Perhaps just as noteworthy is that one of the buyers is making her first investment in commercial real estate.

Radius Commercial Real Estate & Investments recently announced the sale of the 13,800-square-foot building at 1046 Coast Village Road. The retail center includes tenants Starbucks, Vons Pharmacy, Blenders in the Grass and Sakana Sushi Bar and Japanese restaurant, all of whom hold long-term leases.

New owners Deborah and James Longo — who recently purchased a second home in Montecito — worked with Radius brokers Bob Tuler, Gene Deering and Paul Gamberdella to acquire the property. Fellow Radius brokers Steve Brown and Austin Herlihy represented the seller in the transaction.

“This is truly a prize for Deborah and James," Tuler said. "She recently sold a prominent business on the Central Coast and determined market conditions in the Santa Barbara commercial real estate space were too good to pass up.”

“From our perspective, it’s not surprising given where the industry has come in the past couple of years, particularly in this city,” added Brown, who along with Herlihy was a part of two other recent sales of high-profile Santa Barbara properties, including the Marshalls building on State Street and the former Bekins building in the Funk Zone, now leased by sound system giant Sonos.

“Competition is fierce for well-located inventory in Santa Barbara which is quite simply hard to come by right now. Buyers from all across the country, even first-time investors like Ms. Longo who may not be your traditional commercial investors, all have their eye on Santa Barbara,” Brown said. “You simply can’t ignore the long-term value of commercial property.”

According to Tuler, Deborah Longo had very specific requirements: “She knew exactly what she was looking for. She wanted a prime piece of real estate on State Street or Coast Village Road, preferably a boutique retail center with exceptional parking and visibility.”

Tuler said the Longos plans to invest in additional upgrades to the building. Starbucks recently completed its own $350,000 renovation of its space, which enjoys frontage on Coast Village Road.

“I know retail centers like this don’t come along very often, but Bob dug up this opportunity and navigated a very complex deal to secure it for us,” Deborah Longo said. "This is a first-class property in a tremendous location. I'm excited about enhancing and bringing even more value to the property to make it one of the true gems of Montecito."

Support Noozhawk Today

You are an important ally in our mission to deliver clear, objective, high-quality professional news reporting for Santa Barbara, Goleta and the rest of Santa Barbara County. Join the Hawks Club today to help keep Noozhawk soaring.

We offer four membership levels: $5 a month, $10 a month, $25 a month or $1 a week. Payments can be made through PayPal below, or click here for information on recurring credit-card payments.